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10 plants worth knowing

Algeria

Algeria is Africa’s largest country, and more than 80% of it lies within the Sahara. In the north, across the Tell and the Atlas Mountains, grow forests of cork oak, Aleppo pine and cedar; the High Plateaus are covered by steppes of esparto grass, while in the desert life is concentrated in oases of date palms.

Hover over a plant to see on the map where it grows.

where it grows

  1. Date palm 1

    palm

    Date palm

    Phoenix dactylifera

    The oases of the Ziban yield Deglet Nour dates – “fingers of light”, translucent against the sun and counted among the finest in the world.
  2. Atlas cedar 2

    tree

    Atlas cedar

    Cedrus atlantica

    Ancient cedars cloak the peaks of the Djurdjura, the Aurès and Chréa – the highest forests in northern Algeria.
  3. Cork oak 3

    tree

    Cork oak

    Quercus suber

    This oak’s bark is cork – Algeria has some of the largest cork forests in the world, covering the humid mountains of Kabylia.
  4. Esparto grass 4

    grass

    Esparto grass

    Macrochloa tenacissima

    Tough esparto grass, known locally as alfa, covers millions of hectares of the High Plateaus and has supplied fibre for paper, baskets and rope for centuries.
  5. Saharan cypress 5

    tree

    Saharan cypress

    Cupressus dupreziana

    One of the rarest trees on Earth – about 230 ancient cypresses survive in the gorges of the Tassili n’Ajjer, relics of a green Sahara.
  6. Olive 6

    tree

    Olive

    Olea europaea

    Kabylia is olive country – groves climb the mountain slopes, and many villages still run traditional olive presses.
  7. Aleppo pine 7

    tree

    Aleppo pine

    Pinus halepensis

    The Aleppo pine is Algeria’s commonest forest tree – it was planted, among other places, in the “Green Dam” meant to hold back the desert.
  8. Prickly pear 8

    cactus

    Prickly pear

    Opuntia ficus-indica

    Prickly pear marks the edges of fields and villages in northern Algeria – in summer its spiny fruits are sold at the roadside.
  9. Clementine 9

    crop

    Clementine

    Citrus × clementina

    The clementine was born in Algeria – Brother Clément selected it in the early 20th century in an orphanage garden at Misserghin near Oran.
  10. Atlas pistachio 10

    tree

    Atlas pistachio

    Pistacia atlantica

    Lone, spreading betoum trees are the veterans of Algeria’s steppes and northern Saharan valleys – some are several hundred years old.